


A Fool’s Influence

by ThatScottishShipper



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Ambiguous Relationships, Can be Platonic or Romantic Tohru Adachi/Narukami Yu, Dark, Darkest Night Exchange 2020, Don’t repost to another site, Fic Exchange, Gen, Manipulation, Morally Ambiguous Character, One-sided Yu Narukami/EVERYONE, One-sided Yukiko Amagi/Yu Narukami, Social Links | Confidants (Persona Series), Wild Card (Persona Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26581021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: Yu realised that Social Links are more than just a symbol of friendships and growth.They are a power source.*Written for the Darkest Night 2020.*
Relationships: Adachi Tohru & Narukami Yu
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Darkest Night 2020





	A Fool’s Influence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cerberusia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerberusia/gifts).



“So, how did things go with your  _ friends _ ?”

The tired student let his lazy stare answer for him. He walked across the minimalist apartment, a dystopia of bleached isolation, and collapsed on the couch beside  _ him _ .

Yu Narukami said nothing, just shrugging off a weighty school bag full of papers and  _ high school dreams _ . That week had been intense, even for the Investigation Team prodigy.

Exams across the board. School girls (and even his  _ Partner _ , Yosuke) fighting for his attention. Playing tutor to some know-it-all kid. Trying to solve the various problems of Inaba’s residents to placate a Fox with a money hoarding problem.

_ ‘It’ll all be worth it.’ _

Yu managed a weak smile, blinking slowly with heavy eyes. “ _ Peachy _ .”

A playful slap on his back and a cackle came courtesy of Tohru Adachi, the detective that had been investigating the Inaba murders along with Yu’s uncle. Strangely enough, they began to form a bond of their own.

To Yu, Tohru Adachi was his Jester.

With Adachi, he did not have to pretend, or fake his feelings, something that greatly helped his other bonds. It was through Adachi that Yu found a kindred spirit, someone who knew the weight of friendships.

He never needed to mince words, nor play the good boy. Adachi encouraged him to admit when things bored him, when people were _too_ much, and it helped.

Friendships were never something he worried about before, finding them simplistic at best and too much effort at worst. His parents would be moving again anyway, so what was the point?

When he entered Inaba, however, things changed.

Exhausted, Yu closed his eyes...

xxx

Becoming the Wild Card, drawing his strength from the bonds of others, felt like such a responsibility. Against his will, Yu found himself head first in a murder mystery, and also, someone that others relied on.

He barely understood any of it, but everyone latched onto him anyway.

One thing led to another, and a firm handshake with Yosuke stirred something inside Yu. A surge of strength from within, a visual concept of a piercing eye gazing deeply into his soul, beckoning hands, and then a voice burying into his mind.

That he had obtained the Magician Arcana.

He was unsure if that smiling teenager across the way felt it too, but Yu sure did. An energy of mental surgance overwhelmed him, tiring him out, but when he got to the TV World?

Different story.

  
Yu was a Leader, immortalised by his own Persona, Izanagi, and also by the many creatures he found through the dungeons and often through fusion. His newly acquired Pixie Persona grew faster and stronger, along with Yosuke’s own abilities in battle.

The Magician Arcana was the easiest to develop. Yosuke Hanamura, a fellow city kid, grasped his hand, declaring themselves “Partners.” While at first, he had no intention to see it as such, Yosuke’s friendship became one thing in the TV World.

A power source.

By the time Yu summoned a new Persona, a floating fire demon known as Pyro Jack, he felt Yosuke’s strong friendship pouring into him, realising this fabled creature represented their bond.

_ ‘My Arcana is getting stronger…’ _

All his Persona, his Jack Frost, his Hua Po, were feeding on that bountiless energy, most of which came from Yosuke. It was easy, after all, given how hungry for affection he was…

And then there was the Chariot, rushing into his life.

Much like the Magician, Chie Satonaka’s Arcana was bursting to the brim with energy. Chariot energy was a rush to savour, like a drug hit. He still remembered the first time teaming up with Nata Taishi, who - unlike the weaker Slime - lashed out with dizzying Sonic Punches and evasive maneuveurs.

Absorbing the Chariot’s power made Yu feel victorious and confident, like every conquest was self-assured.

From one best friend to another, Yu became acquainted with Yukiko Amagi and the Priestess Arcana. Bringing her out her shell also encouraged Konohana Sakuya, empowering healing abilities that meant Yu could be more risky in battle.

If Yosuke or one of the powers wanted to throw themselves in harm's way, that was up to them. And they often did.

_ ‘Typical _ ,’ Yu thought, turning down yet another of Yukiko’s well made lunch boxes.  _ ‘To be the holder of the Arcana of hidden knowledge and female mystery… but she can’t figure out I’m not into her like that.’ _

Strangely enough, Yukiko strongly resembled her Arcana, as an individual so quiet and reserved. And yet, as Yu indulged in her whimsy, her inferiority complex changed into a new power.

_ ‘A Goddess, a Witch, a Mage, a Priestess…’ _ As Yu embraced her, drinking in the power of a Social Link touched with love, another descriptor came to mind.  _ ‘...Mine.’ _

xxx

As Kanji joined, then Rise, then Naoto, Yu knew that their power became his, through boosting their Arcanas, their Social Links. Every time he hung out with his  _ ‘friends,’ _ invested time with them, and catered to their  _ ‘feelings,’ _ the power of the Wild Card grew.

Fusing Personas became a breeze with the strength of the Investigation Team that adored the ground he walked on. They practically threw themselves in front of him at the slightest hint of danger.

His only encouragement to respond to the plight of others was on the off chance a Social Link might burst to life, otherwise they meant nothing to him.

Before long, Tohru Adachi sought him out, offering him a peculiar relationship that felt more at home to him. The longer he spent with Adachi, engaging in long talks about what a  _ drag _ things were and that human connections were so expectant, Yu realised what he had long suspected.

No one was perfect.

Everyone was inherently flawed, desiring fulfilment and purpose in their dreary lives. Yosuke was still that bored and boring, latching onto him like a leech. Yukiko and Chie replaced one weakness with another, whether it was another way to be free or a punching bag.

Kanji still felt insecure as ever, Rise still cared too much about what others thought, and Naoto still overcompensated. And Teddie did what he could not to be an empty mess.

Yu understood that.

And then there were the other kids at his school.

For being the joint Strength Arcana, Kou Ichihijo and Daisuke Nagase clinged to anything, and he meant  _ anything _ , they could. Kou obsessed over basketball and his own family until it never became an option and then decided escaping overseas was the cool thing to do.

And Daisuke was moping over an old girlfriend.

Yu frowned. _‘Really?‘_

As if Yu didn’t have enough to keep himself occupied, even the Drama Club and Music Club yielded power.

Both the Sun, Yumi Ozawa’s sorrow hid in her acting, while Ayane Matsunaga did the same thing with music.

At the very least, their opposite personalities made them easy to figure out to squeeze out some beneficial Social Links for his Persona. Strength was something he acquired, after all.

And Drama was perfect for Yu, a natural talent he only mastered since coming to Inaba.

The trickier one was Ai Ebihara, the Moon Arcana. Like the Moon, she already had a dark side, and he often wondered if she had him figured out. All too accustomed to the energetic burst that came with positivity in his precious Social Links, Ai’s Arcana  _ flipped _ .

It was hard to describe, but Yu felt confused, like the world turned completely upon him. Even his Moon Persona were affected, and he hated that feeling of powerlessness.

He did everything he could to reverse the damage, but thought nothing of ignoring her once the Arcana was complete. At least she wasn’t someone that came into the TV World with him.

Alternatively, Naoki Konishi, he understood. Even if the kid resented him and Yosuke at first, it was Inaba and everyone in it he had a problem with. All those small town gossipers ever did was talk about pitying him, expecting him to mourn and cry.

But Naoki couldn’t.

The problem always had been people, encroaching into personal spaces, and taking, taking, taking.

Why shouldn’t Yu do the same?

As Adachi said, no one was perfect.

Sayoko Uehara, a workaholic nurse whose desire to flee her feelings, manifested into the Devil. The overstudious Shu Nakajima, like the Tower, succumbed to cheating and everything he built fell apart.

Inaba was full of broken, flawed people, pretending to be accomplished and complete. People who yearned for control in their lives, holding onto whatever shard of power they had because life was so messy and uncertain.

Like he wanted.

xxx

“Hey. You awake?”

Once more, that white apartment opened up to him. Tohru Adachi leaned in close, grinning from ear to ear. Yu blinked wearily, staring at the nearest clock only to find it was way past midnight.

_ ‘Shit… Wasn’t tonight…?’ _

His thoughts were cut off by Adachi’s hand ruffling his silver hair. Those dark eyes were a comfort, something that he felt in their bond itself. Finding someone who shared that dissatisfaction and that isolation, someone he didn’t have play pretend with.

Someone who might  _ actually _ know him beyond their bond.

“Wanna stay over? Streets are dangerous at night, what with a killer around?”

A sudden thrum of energy crackled through Yu, and he recognised it immediately. The unmistakable simmer of Jester energy fusing with his own, and in that moment, he felt… a little less alone.   
  


The Jester _beckoned_ to the Fool. Why shouldn’t Yu take that offer? The Arcana was still wanting, after all.

The faint shadow within their met eyes vanished, and Yu answered. “Sure thing.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Cerberusia for the Darkest Night Exchange 2020. I digged the prompt regarding the Protagonist improving Social Links for the purpose of bumping up his Persona.
> 
> I initially wrote Yu as someone who didn’t get friendships and didn’t set out to abuse the Wild Card power at first, but in this version of the story, he sees an opportunity. His bond with Adachi certainly doesn’t help his desire to find control and power in something in his life.
> 
> I wanted to write the ending as very ambiguous. It can be seen as platonic or something more, but the true game is who is using who exactly?
> 
> They find a kinship with each other, but there’s even manipulation in both sides in their friendship. Adachi’s reasoning is obvious, but for Yu, he still has an untapped Arcana to utilise...
> 
> This was a dark, but very interesting idea to tap.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🖤


End file.
